Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Ball State
Eastern Michigan Men's Hoops Drops Road Affair at Ball State, 75-64
2/26/2022 6:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Noah Farrakhan and Monty Scott combine for 42 of the Eagles 64 points
MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team dropped a road contest at Ball State University, 75-64, today, Feb. 26.
Eastern (10-19, 5-13 MAC) was led offensively by freshman Noah Farrakhan (Newark, N.J.-The Patrick School (East Carolina)) scoring 27 points, while senior Monty Scott (Union, N.J.-St. Benedicts Prep (Portland State)) added 15. Classmate Darion Spottsville (Phoenix, Ariz.-Shadow Mountain (South Mountain C.C.)) paced the Eagles in assists with three, while freshman Colin Golson Jr. (Detroit, Mich.-Ferndale) topped the team with three offensive rebounds.
Defensively, the EMU held Ball State (12-15, 8-9 MAC) to just 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from three. Senior Nate Scott (Naperville, Ill.-Neuqua Valley (Northern Illinois)) led the team on the boards with eight total rebounds. Spottsville was the only Eagle to record a steal for Eastern and finished with three. Freshman Mo Njie (Centerville, Ohio-Centerville (DME Sports Academy)) tallied three blocks in the contest as well.
How It Happened
After falling behind 14-7, Eastern Michigan went on a 5-0 run with 10:17 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Farrakhan, to narrow its deficit to 14-12. The Eagles continued to narrow the gap and tied the game at 32-32 heading into halftime. Eastern Michigan saw the bench step up in the period, as non-starters registered eight of its 32 total points.
Ball State then snagged a 52-45 advantage before EMU responded by going on a 6-0 run, finished off by Farrakhan's three, to shrink the deficit to 52-51 with 11:00 to go in the contest. Ball State responded and outscored the Eagles the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 75-64. Eastern Michigan shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting five shots from deep to score 15 of its 32 points.
Game Notes
» Eastern secured 22 rebounds in the first half. The rebounding performance is the highest in a half since grabbing 22 boards in the first stanza against Ohio, Feb. 12.
» M. Scott shot 3-of-7 (42.9%) from downtown in the first half to lead the Eagles from three. The performance is the senior's first in which he hit three triples in a half this season, and is the first time making three treys in conference play. Furthermore, the New Jersey native finished the contest 4-of-11 from beyond-the-arc, making it the first game that he hit four.
» Farrakhan led all scorers in the contest with 27 points. This marks the freshman's 19th contest in double-figures, and 10th scoring 20-or-more.
» M. Scott ended the contest with 15 points, his 13th game this season hitting double-figures. Additionally, it is the senior's first game in double-digits since scoring 10 versus Toledo, Feb. 1.
» Farrakhan and M. Scott combined for 42 points, accounting for 65.6 percent of Eastern's total offensive output.
» Spottsville led the team with three assists, marking his fifth game of the season leading the team in the category.
» Njie finished the contest with three blocks. The defensive performance marks his eighth multiple-block game of the season.
» Eastern shot 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the free throw line, its best percentage from the line since Feb. 2, at Ohio. Furthermore, it ties the third-best percentage from the charity stripe in a game this season, as EMU also shot 84.6 percent (22-of-26) against Kent State, Jan. 18.
» EMU held Ball State to 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from three, its lowest percentage from downtown since playing at Toledo, Jan. 18, where it was also 8-of-28.
» Eastern found success from three-point land, knocking down nine treys in the game, tying the most three-point makes of the season for the Eagles and the sixth time they have tied the total.
» Eastern Michigan cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 10 offensive boards in the game. It's the ninth contest of the season that EMU has secured 10-or-more offensive caroms.
Historical Notes
» Today marked the 113th all-time meeting between Eastern Michigan and Ball State. The Cardinals lead the series, 65-45 after today's win.
Up Next
Eastern Michigan heads home to celebrate Senior Day inside the George Gervin GameAboveCenter Tuesday, March 1. The Eagles welcome Western Michigan University to Ypsilanti for the 7 p.m. tip.
